Specialist hospitality and leisure property adviser, Christie & Co has sold the Quays Hotel and adjacent multi-story car park in Sheffield off a guide price of £10 million.
Confidentially brought to market on behalf of Furnival Quay Ltd, the 128-bedroom purpose-built hotel, which occupies a three-acre site, had previously traded as one of Hilton’s core-branded, four-star UK properties.
Following a strategic review of the business by Christie & Co’s consultancy team including an operator search and selection process, Legacy Hotels were appointed to reopen the hotel which was rebranded in 2020 as a Best Western Plus. Christie & Co’s Corporate Hotel team then utilised it’s regional UK network, managing the sale process in collaboration with David Lee, regional director – Hospitality North East.
The sale has concluded to Canadian-headquartered Northland Properties Corporation, the parent company of multiple hotel chains, restaurants and sports teams, founded in 1963 and owned by the Gaglardi family.
Northland presently operate three hotels in the UK under their Sandman Signature brand in Aberdeen, Newcastle and Gatwick with a number of new locations currently in negotiation and under consideration.
Dale Fixter, on behalf of Furnival Quay Ltd, says: “As experienced, local developers and investors, we acquired the former Hilton hotel and adjacent MSCP with a view to either redeveloping all or part of the site given it was a building of over 100,000 sq ft on a three-acre site close to the city centre.
“Together with the Christie & Co team and Legacy Hotels, we worked through a variety of scenarios and the competitive bidding achieved for the property validates our decision to proceed with the sale to a long-term owner with significant operational expertise.”
Mitch Gaglardi of Northland Properties adds: “The acquisition of the Quays Hotel is a strategic one for our group as we look build our UK platform. The extensive real estate plays to our development skills and we look forward to showcasing the next Sandman Signature following the significant programme of investment we envisage being undertaken in due course.”
Jeremy Jones, head of Hotel Brokerage at Christie & Co, concludes: “The demand for good quality, freehold provincial hotels with further potential for development remains strong, with competitive interest from a variety of corporate operators being generated in this particular instance.”
